This section provides an overview of snapshots for L-Servers.
A snapshot saves the content of an L-Server disk at the time the snapshot is taken. If the server type is "VM", the snapshot function of server virtualization software is used.
When the server type is "Physical", the snapshot function cannot be used.
If multiple snapshots are collected of the same L-Server, the snapshots are managed by automatically adding version numbers to the snapshot file name starting from 1. If the number of snapshot versions exceeds the limit (standard limit is 3), the oldest snapshot will be deleted. Use a command to change the maximum number of snapshot versions. For details on the command, refer to "E.7.2 rcxadm imagemgr".
To collect a snapshot, the power of the L-Server must be off to avoid any inconsistencies occurring in the data and file system on the disk.
However, by adding the -online option command for an L-Server that has been set in advance to enable snapshot collection when the server is running, snapshots can be collected when the server is running.
Snapshots cannot be collected from the GUI when the server is running.
For details on the settings required to collect a snapshot when the server is running, refer to the snapshot manual of the server virtualization software.
For details on the command, refer to "E.4.1 rcxadm image".
Note
The Resource Orchestrator snapshot uses the checkpoint function of SCVMM.
To collect snapshots, sufficient free space is necessary to create a difference disk on the storage destination of VM guest.
When connecting the VM management software using the path through disk, snapshot creation will fail.
Operation with snapshots collected is not recommended due to the following reasons:
When snapshots are collected, operation uses disk difference, and performance may deteriorate.
If a snapshot is created from a VM guest that has been moved between servers (migration), and the snapshot is restored to a different VM host, the status on SCVMM becomes "Stored" and the VM may not be able to be started. In this situation, it is necessary to return the VM guest to the VM host from which the snapshot was collected and then start it.
For adjustment of the difference disk, it is necessary to delete not only all snapshots collected using Resource Orchestrator, but also all checkpoints created using VM management software. Adjustment of the disk is automatically performed by SCVMM, but the operation may take a long time, because it is only performed while the target VM guest is stopped.
Information
The snapshot function provided by server virtualization software records the disk from the last update. Consequently, when a disk failure occurs, the snapshot function becomes unavailable at the same time. Snapshot can be used as a corrective measure for problems such as the following:
Example
For recovery when a problems occurs with the applied patch
For recovery when a problem occurs when changing operating system parameters
Collecting a Snapshot
This section explains how to collect a snapshot.
To collect a snapshot, the L-Server must be stopped. Note that a snapshot can be collected from the command-line when L-Server is running.
Right-click the target L-Server in the orchestration tree, and select [Snapshot]-[Collect] from the popup menu.
The [Create a Snapshot] dialog is displayed.
Enter the items below, and click <OK>.
Enter a comment that identifies the snapshot.
Enter up to 128 alphanumeric characters or symbols.
The snapshot is collected.
From the command-line, execute rcxadm image snapshot.
For details on the command, refer to "E.4.1 rcxadm image".
Restoring a Snapshot
This section explains how to restore a snapshot.
To restore a snapshot, the L-Server must be stopped.
Right-click the target L-Server in the orchestration tree, and select [Snapshot]-[Restore] from the popup menu.
The [Restore a Snapshot] dialog is displayed.
Select the version of the snapshot to restore, and click <OK>.
The snapshot is restored.
For details on the command, refer to "E.4.1 rcxadm image".
Deleting a Snapshot
This section explains how to delete unnecessary snapshots.
Right-click the target L-Server in the orchestration tree, and select [Snapshot]-[Delete] from the popup menu.
The [Delete a Snapshot] dialog is displayed.
Select the version of the snapshot to delete, and click <OK>.
The snapshot is deleted.
For details on the command, refer to "E.4.1 rcxadm image".
